The 5-minute garlic bread recipe made with garlic powder is here by popular demand. After a stressful day at work, why fight to get dinner on the table? Make this quick ‘n easy garlic bread recipe in minutes to complete your meal.
Our flight from San Francisco to Denver was doomed from the beginning.
Due to an overweight suitcase and an unexpected TSA inspection, we were close to not making it. When we arrived at the gate, it was empty because the passengers had boarded. The flight was ready to take off. There was no time to grab a bite to eat. I shushed my rumbling tummy and quickly found my seat onboard.
An hour and a half later, we were back at the same gate. How? Our flight had been grounded.
During moments when your day feels doomed and you’re starving for a quick bite, this 5-minute garlic bread recipe using garlic powder will feel like a tiny miracle. Let’s learn how to make this tasty no-cook garlic bread.
This is one of my favorite recipes in my series for quick meals. Check out the other 5-minute recipes.
How is this 5-minute garlic bread different?
This garlic bread recipe is special for 2 reasons:
- We make the garlic bread in the microwave and toaster. No baking required.
- It uses garlic powder so you don’t have to deal with fresh garlic
Many garlic bread recipes call for fresh garlic. After I posted my 5-Minute Easy Garlic Bread With Fresh Garlic recipe, readers wrote to tell me that when they tried the recipe using garlic powder, it didn’t produce a tasty result.
Since a lot of home cooks don’t want to deal with peeling and chopping fresh garlic, garlic powder is an ideal substitute (and tastes almost as good, according to our garlic taste test).
After experimenting, Alex & I tweaked the ratio of ingredients to create a garlic bread recipe using garlic powder that still produces a moist and flavorful garlic bread.
Why is this garlic bread recipe worth making?
There are days when you’re hungry and had a stressful day at work. You don’t have a meal plan ready or the energy to cook for hours.
Nonetheless, you still want to make something simple and stress-free yet delicious and satisfying. Maybe today is one of those days?
This garlic bread recipe offers you a quick and easy way to get dinner on the table while making a dish that everybody loves.
No preheating the oven. No waiting for 15-20 minutes to enjoy garlic bread.
Who would love this recipe?
Some people swear by fresh garlic (you peeps can check out my 5-Minute Easy Garlic Bread with Fresh Garlic recipe).
Other people are garlic powder fans, who don’t believe in peeling raw garlic. (You know who you are. I hear you complain about getting garlic smells on your fingers. 😀 )
If you prefer cooking with garlic powder, you’ll love this garlic bread recipe because it’s designed for you, Garlic Powder Lovers.
What are the ingredients in 5-minute garlic bread with garlic powder?
- Bread
- Salt
- Butter
- Garlic powder
- Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (optional)
- Herbs (optional)
What’s the best kind of bread for this garlic bread recipe?
I love freshly baked bread. My preference is to use a French or Italian loaf. Pick a loaf of bread that is soft inside while crusty outside.
I bought a Trader Joe’s Sourdough Batard when I made the recipe, and Alex loved it.
You can use a baguette but remember there is a lot of crust. This results in a crunchy garlic toast rather than garlic bread.
How do you make garlic bread with regular bread slices?
You can use pre-sliced sandwich bread. The advantage of using regular bread slices is that it’s even simpler because you’re likely to already have regular bread slices at home.
The disadvantage of regular bread slices is that they produce a less “gourmet” result. If you’re trying to make garlic bread closer to what you expect from a restaurant, then stick to a loaf of French or Italian bread.
If you’re using regular bread slices, avoid using regular bread slices with grains unless you like that texture in your garlic bread.
Avoid bread with added sugar unless you’re going for a sweetened garlic bread (which sounds icky to me).
What kind of salt should you use?
We used plain ol’ table salt from Costco.
Affiliate disclosure: When you buy through affiliate links in this article, I earn a commission. There is no additional cost for you.
Fancy Himalayan pink salt or French sea salt works too. You will taste the salt flakes, so this is a recipe where you can splurge and taste the difference.
What kind of butter should you use?
Coming from New Zealand, I love grass-fed butter. I’m convinced I can taste the cow’s happiness. Since I cannot find Anchor butter in the U.S., I buy Kerrygold Butter.
I like salted butter because I am lazy. If you use unsalted butter, add an extra 1/4 teaspoon of salt to the recipe because our recipe below uses salted butter. Or season to taste if you love very salty food.
And it’s OK to use non-grass-fed butter. There’s nothing wrong with Kroger or Land O’Lakes butter (except your garlic bread might be less flavorful).
What kinds of butter substitutions can you make?
If you’re vegan or a non-dairy eater, replace the butter with olive oil. You can use about 1 tablespoon of olive oil.
Because I haven’t tested the recipe with ghee instead of butter yet, I can’t recommend the substitution. If end up using ghee, leave a comment below to let me know if it works. If there are enough requests, I will test ghee and let you know.
What’s the best kind of garlic powder?
The freshest garlic powder you can find. If your garlic powder is older than 6 months, I would throw it out and buy fresh garlic powder.
Farm-fresh garlic powder makes a huge difference because allicin, which gives garlic its unique smell, is an unstable compound. Old garlic powder will lose its flavor.
Parmesan cheese
This recipe calls for parmesan cheese sprinkled on top of the garlic butter. I used pre-grated parmesan because we were rushed for time during our move to Colorado.
Since we performed our taste test comparing Parmigiano-Reggiano with Parmesan, we know that you can tell the difference. So, grate some aged Parmigiano-Reggiano over the garlic bread for a fancier result.
TIP: The Parmesan is optional. You can skip the cheese if you’re in a hurry, don’t have cheese, or don’t eat dairy.
In the 5-Minute Easy Garlic Bread with Fresh Garlic recipe, there’s no parmesan. Instead, the recipe gets its flavor from fresh garlic and herbs (cilantro).
Herbs
In this recipe, I don’t add any herbs. But you could take inspiration from the 5-Minute Easy Garlic Bread with Fresh Garlic recipe and add chopped cilantro.
Parsley is the traditional herb used on Italian garlic bread. But I hate parsley so I don’t use it in my recipes. If you like parsley, feel free to chop some and sprinkle it over the parmesan before serving.
Garlic Delighter, Shehreyar commented to say he will try the 5-Minute Easy Garlic Bread with Fresh Garlic recipe with oregano and fresh basil. You too may enjoy experimenting with different Italian herbs.
Where can you buy the ingredients for this garlic bread with garlic powder?
The ingredients should be available at any grocery store during any time of the year.
I prefer buying my garlic powder at a place like Trader Joe’s where they have high traffic and therefore quick turnover on herbs and spices. I would avoid buying garlic powder at my local convenience store where the garlic powder may have sat on the shelf for more than a year.
TIP: If you want to make the fancy version of 5-minute garlic bread, you can go to the European bakery for your bread, your cheesemonger for Parmigiano-Reggiano, and your grass-fed dairy for premium butter.
What equipment do you need?
Affiliate disclosure: When you buy through affiliate links in this article, I earn a commission. There is no additional cost for you.
You need:
- A microwave: Any good microwave works. If you don’t already have a microwave, check out this best-selling countertop microwave oven.
- A toaster: A regular slotted toaster works. If you have a toaster oven, that works too as long as it can toast bread.
- A garlic press: This Kuhn Rikon is my favorite and what we use at home. But if you don’t have one, you can chop the garlic with a chef’s knife.
- Use a microwave-safe bowl to heat the butter: Be careful when you take the hot butter out of the microwave because you can burn yourself touching the hot bowl. Use oven mitts or a dish towel to protect your hands.
5-Minute Garlic Bread with Garlic Powder
Equipment
- Microwave
- Toaster
Ingredients
- 2 slices (2 slices) Bread, Fresh crusty French or Italian bread is the best.
- 1/4 teaspoon (2 g) Salt, Optional. If you're using unsalted butter or if you like your food very salty
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) butter, Salted butter tastes better and is less work
- 1 teaspoon (5 g) Garlic Powder, Use the freshest garlic powder, less than 6 months old
- 1 tablespoon (15 g) Parmesan, Optional. I used pre-grated Parmesan cheese for this recipe. You can Parmigiano-Reggiano freshly grated
Instructions
- Slice the bread. The recipe calls for 2 slices. If you want to scale the recipe up, cut more slices of bread.
- Toast the bread on medium. I like my garlic bread lightly browned but you can toast it on whatever settings you prefer to create a softer or crunchier result.
- Heat the butter in the microwave on high for 30 seconds. Place a paper towel over the bowl to avoid splattering butter in your microwave.
- Now the butter is softened, add the salt and garlic powder to the bowl with the melted butter.
- Mash the garlic powder into the melted butter, which creates a garlic butter.
- Once the bread is toasted, spread the garlic butter on the 2 slices of bread.
- Sprinkle the grated parmesan on top of the garlic butter. If you're freshly grating a block of Parmigiano-Reggiano, grate the cheese until you have a thin coverage over the garlic butter.
- If you're using a toaster oven, you can optionally put it back into the toaster oven for 30 seconds to melt the cheese.
- Enjoy your 5-minute garlic bread!
Notes
- If you don’t have a microwave, you can melt the butter by putting the bowl in a pan of warm water.
- If you don’t have a toaster oven, you can skip melting the cheese. If you really want the cheese to melt and you have a microwave, you can zap it in the microwave for 30 seconds (but there is a small risk of drying out the bread and making it rock hard)
- If you prefer to use the broiler in your oven, you can use that instead of a toaster or toaster oven.
Nutrition
How to serve 5-minute garlic bread with garlic powder
Serve it hot and straight from the toaster. That means, make the garlic bread last, just before dining. That way, you can enjoy the crusty bread with melted garlic butter.
If it gets cold, reheat it in your toaster oven for 1 minute. Or pop it in the toaster for 30 seconds. Or better yet, enjoy it cold.
What to eat with garlic bread
You can enjoy this garlic bread alongside other Italian-inspired or French-inspired recipes.
Recipes similar to garlic bread
READ NEXT: Learn whether you can taste the difference when using a fresh garlic substitute
Delicious! Didn’t use the cheese, but the butter and garlic powder ratio was great.
My microwave is too strong, it completely melted the butter 😂 oops. I don’t know how to change the settings so I’ll just put it on for less time next time.
Tasted great even though I had to battle with the garlic powder’s bouyancy and had to drizzle it instead of spread it. My craving for garlic bread is satisfied for now. Thanks for this 👍
Interesting stuff! I’ll probably share this with some of my friends. Thanks again for posting it.
Thanks Tom. How did the recipe go for you?
Thanks for your feedback Tom! Really appreciate it. Do you have any tips on how to improve the recipe? Or do you have any variations you made that you want to share?